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A 



SERMON 



PREACHED IN CHEIST CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA, 



Friday, January 4, 1861, 



ON OCCASION OF 



THE NATIONAL FAST, 



KECOMMENDED BY THE PKESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, BECAUSE 
OF THE DANGERS WHICH THREATEN THE UNION. 



BY 

BENJAMIN pOER, D.D., 

^ ^.RECTOR OF SAID CHURCH . 




llf^ 



PUBLISHED BY REQUEST OF THE VEflTRY. 



PHILADELPHIA: 
COLLINS, PRINTER, 705 JAYNE STREET. 
Hi^ 1861. 



.5" 

•3T 



Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1S61, by 

BENJAMIN DORK, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of tlic United States in and for 
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



i^ 4 / ^ 



SERMON. 



PSALM LXXX. 8—15. 



" TuOtJ HAST BKOUGHT A VINE OUT OF EgYPT ; THOU HAST CAST OUT THE HEATHEN, 
AND PLANTED IT. TjIOU PKEPAREDST ROOM BEFORE IT, AND DIDST CAUSE IT 
TO TAKE DEEP ROOT, AND IT FILLED THE LAND. ThE HILLS WERE COVERED 
WITH THE SHADOW OF IT, AND THE BOUGHS THEREOF WERE LIKE THE GOODLY 
CEDARS. She sent out her BOUGHS UNTO THE SEA, AND HER BRANCHES UNTO 
THE RIVER. Why HAST THOU THEN BROKEN DOWN HER HEDGES, SO THAT ALL 
THEY WHICH PASS BY THE WAY DO PLUCK HER? ThE BOAR OUT OF THE WOOD 
DOTH WASTE IT, AND THE WILD BEAST OF THE FIELD DOTH DEVOUR IT. KeTURN, 
WE BESEECH THEE, GOD OF HOSTS ; LOOK DOWN FROM HEAVEN, AND BEHOLD, 
AND VISIT THIS VINE; AnD THE VINEYARD WHICH THY RIGHT HAND HATH 
PLANTED, AND THE BRANCH THAT THOU MADEST STRONG FOR THYSELF." 

Before I proceed to the main subject of my dis- 
course, I desire, as a fitting introduction to it, to call 
your attention to an historical event, which will 
doubtless be interesting to all of you, and which is 
singularly appropriate to the present time, and place, 
and occasion. 

Eighty-five years ago there assembled in this church 
a body of distinguished men, pure, patriotic, high- 
minded; men of mighty intellects, and inflexible 
integrity ; the honor and boast of their country ; and 
whom any nation might be proud to call their own. 
There were patriots and statesmen from the North 



and from the South. Washington would have been 
here, but that he had been elected, one month before, 
General and Commander-in-chief of the American 
forces, and had gone to join the army at Cambridge. 
The Adamses of Massachusetts, and the Eutledges of 
South Carolina were here ; John Hancock, whose 
name stands first on the declaration of Independence, 
was here; Jefi'erson and Franklin were here; Patrick 
Henry, and John Jay, and Richard Henry Lee, with 
many others of like mind and spirit, were also here. 

These illustrious worthies composed the Continental 
Congress, which was convened in this city to consider 
and determine what was needful to be done for the 
preservation of their homes, their lives, their liberties, 
and for the safety and welfare of their common coun- 
try, in that hour of greatest peril. It was the year 
preceding the declaration of independence. 

And what brought them to this house of prayer '? 
The same high and holy purpose, my friends, as that 
which brings us together this morning. They were 
Christians, and knew that nothing which they might 
counsel, or atteinpt, could prosper without God's 
blessing. They therefore " recommended a general 
fast throughout the united English colonies of Ame- 
rica ;" and requested all the inhabitants to assemble 
in their respective places of worship, to confess their 
individual and national sins, to deprecate God's judg- 



ments, and earnestly implore His forgiveness of the 
past, and His grace and help for the future. 

The solemn fast day came July twentieth, seventeen 
hundred and seventy-five, and these Christian patriots, 
by a resolution in Congress, came in a body from their 
place of meeting to this venerable house — venerable, 
even then, for its age. 

What a sublime scene was here! The greatest 
and best men of the land — those to whom, under 
God, we are indebted for all the blessings, civil, social, 
and religious, which we so abundantly enjoy — bowing 
down before the King of kings and Lord of lords ; 
and beseeching Him, for Christ's sake, to have mercy 
upon them, and to make speed to deliver them ! 

The Eev. Mr. Duche, the senior assistant minister 
of Christ Church, who, two months after, became its 
rector, officiated on the occasion, by special request 
of the Congress. His text was a portion of the Psalm 
just read to you : " Return, we beseech thee, O God 
of hosts; look down from heaven, and behold, and 
visit this vine." And that, brethren, is my text to-day. 

The Psalm was composed in a time of great national 
distress; probably in the reign of Hezekiah, when 
the Assyrian armies had taken and destroyed most of 
the strong-holds of Judea, carried many of its inhabi- 
tants into captivity, made the land desolate, and 
threatened the destruction of the Holy City itself 



Whatever the calamity was, it must have been very 
grievous, to draw forth from the Psalmist such sorrow- 
ful lamentations, such earnest entreaty for deliverance. 
" Hear, O thou Shepherd of Israel ; stir up thy 
strength, and come and help us. Thou hast brought 
a vine out of Egypt ; thou hast cast out the heathen, 
and planted it. Thou madest room for it ; and when 
it had taken root, it filled the land. The hills were 
covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof 
were like the goodly cedar-trees. She stretched out 
her branches unto the sea, and her boughs unto the 
river. Why hast thou then broken down her hedge, 
that all they that go by pluck off her grapes ? The 
wild boar out of the wood doth root it up, and the 
wild beasts of the field devour it. Turn thee a^ain, 
thou God of hosts, look down from heaven, behold 
and visit this vine, and the place of the vineyard that 
thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that 
thou madest so strong for thyself" 

The Psalmist, you perceive, first recounts God's 
mercies to his own people; tells of his marvellous 
loving-kindness, in times past, to Israel his chosen. 
He represents their unexampled prosperity by that 
most beautiful, appropriate, and very common figure 
in Scripture — a healthy, vigorous, and fruitful vine, 
warmed by the sun, and nourished by the dews and 
rains of heaven. Never, indeed, Avas there a nation 



so blessed of heaven as they. Never was there a land 
so desirable as theirs. Hear how graphically their 
great lawgiver, Moses, describes it : " The Lord thy 
God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks 
of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of 
valleys and hills ; a land of wheat, and barley, and 
vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a land of 
oil olive, and honey ; a land wherein thou shalt eat 
bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any 
thing in it." There God planted his own vine, 
which He brought out of Egypt, and made Judea 
emphatically « the glory of all lands." 

But now, alas ! the scene is changed ; the land lan- 
guishes and mourns ; " the place of his vineyard is 
burnt with fire, and cut down." Why? Because 
God, even their own God, had hid his face from Israel 
on account of their transgressions. 

Yet he condescends to plead with them, before he 
gives them over to the spoiler. He tells them what 
he had done in the way of blessings, and what He 
will do in the way of judgments, if they do not spee- 
dily repent. 

" My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruit- 
ful hill ; and he fenced it, and gathered out the stones 
thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and 
built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a wine- 
press therein; and he looked that it should bring 



8 

forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And 
now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, 
judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard. 
What could have been done more to my vineyard, 
that I have not done in if? Wherefore, when I looked 
that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild 
grapes ] And now, go to ; I will tell you what I will 
do to my vineyard ; I will take away the hedge thereof, 
and it shall be eaten up ; and break down the wall 
thereof, and it shall be trodden down. And I will lay 
it waste; it shall not be pruned nor digged; but there 
shall come up briers and thorns ; I will also command 
the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the 
vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, 
and the men of Judah his pleasant plant; and he 
looked for judgment, but behold oppression ; for right- 
eousness, but behold a cry." 

Sacred history informs us how all these predictions, 
promises, and threatenings, were verified, as regards 
the Jews. God graciously planted his people, as a 
choice vine, in the promised land, and He largely 
multiplied and prospered them there. For a time 
they were grateful for his mercies and obedient to his 
laws. " But within a while they forgat his works, and 
would not abide his counsel. They thought scorn of 
that pleasant land, and gave no credence to his word. 
Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against 



9 

his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inhe- 
ritance. And he gave them over into the hand of the 
heathen ; and they that hated them were lords over 
them. Their enemies oppressed them, and had them 
in subjection." 

Thus it happened, again and again, with this rebel- 
lious and stiff-necked people. The more God pros- 
pered and blessed them, the more ungrateful and 
disobedient were they; but "when He slew them, 
then they sought him; and returned and inquired 
early after God. And they remembered that God was 
their strength, and that the high God was their Ee- 
deemer." " Many a time did he deliver them ; but 
they rebelled against him with their own inventions, 
and were brought down in their wickedness. Never- 
theless, when he saw their adversity, he heard their 
complaint. He thought upon his covenant, and pitied 
them, according to the multitude of his mercies." 

Thus they went on, from age to age, sinning and 
repenting, yet becoming in each period of their apos- 
tasy more hardened in wickedness, until, at last, they 
filled up the measure of their iniquities by crucifying 
the Lord of glory ; and then they were given over to 
irremediable ruin. The vine was rooted up, which 
God's own hand had planted ; the wall was broken 
down by the hand that builded it ; the land was made 
utterly desolate; Judea was trodden down of the 



10 

Gentiles; the Holy City and Temple were destroyed; 
and Jerusalem became a heap of stones. And this, 
because she would not know, in the day of her visita- 
tion, the things which belonged unto her peace. They 
were, therefore, hidden from her eyes. Thus, in the 
prosperity and the downfall of Israel, we have an 
illustration of that momentous truth, " Righteousness 
exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach," and we may 
add, the ruin, " of any people." 

And now, let us ask — Is there anything in those 
portions of Scripture which we have been considering, 
that does not meet our own case ] Are they not fully 
as profitable for us, for instruction and warning, as for 
the Jews '? Take the description in my text of their 
prosperity, represented by the figure of a vine planted 
in a kindly soil, growing and spreading, till it covered 
the whole land of Palestine with its shadow ; extend- 
ing its branches to the Mediterranean Sea on the one 
side, and to the great river Euphrates on the other. 
How applicable this to the growth and prosperity of 
our own country. Or take the more minute descrip- 
tion in Isaiah, of the care and kindness which God 
bestowed on his favored vineyard, for its culture, pro- 
tection, and fruitfulness ; do we not see the same 
striking parallel here also '? 

Look back over all the past in our history, our 
rapid increase, our multiplied blessings, our numerous 



11 

deliverances, and our ungrateful returns for all God's 
mercies ; and tell me if the Psalmist does not describe 
these as truly and clearly, as if he intended the de- 
scription for us alone'? Consider how great things 
God hath done for us, year by year, continually; and 
then say, if He might not ask of us, as He asked of 
his ancient people, "What could have been done 
more to my vineyard that I have not done in iti" 
Surely, surely, He did no more for them than he has 
done for us. 

In his wise providence He brought our fore- 
fathers to this western world, " when they were yet 
few of them, and they strangers in the land." " He 
cast out the heathen also before them, and caused 
their land to be divided among them for an herit- 
age." He protected and prospered them, and caused 
the wilderness around them to "rejoice and blossom 
as the rose." He planted his vineyard here with 
the choicest vine ; he hedged it in, and built a wall 
around it for protection ; and when enemies threat- 
ened to destroy, He was nigh to save. It grew and 
spread, like the vine of Judea, until it filled the land. 
The hills were covered with the shadow of it; it 
stretched out its branches from the sea to the river, 
and from the river to the great sea westward; from 
the Atlantic to the mighty Mississippi ; and tliencc 
onward to the shores of the Pacific. 



12 

This, brethren, is the type of our beloved land; 
this the brief record of its past history. Never, in 
the annals of the world, was there an instance of a 
nation rising so rapidly to perfect maturity and 
strength. And for all this, we were indebted, under 
God, to the piety and wisdom of our forefathers ; to 
such men as assembled here in this house of prayer, 
in July, seventeen hundred and seventy-five ; to such 
men as signed the Declaration of Independence in 
this city, in July, seventeen hundred and seventy-six ; 
to such men as signed the " Articles of Confedera- 
tion and Perpetual Union," so they were called, in 
July, seventeen hundred and seventy-eight ; to such 
men as framed and signed the Constitution of these 
United States, in seventeen hundred and eighty-seven. 
I say, we are indebted to them, under God, for to 
Him they looked for guidance and assistance, and He 
was their guide and helper. 

The immortal Washington, in his first address to 
Congress after his election to the Presidency, made 
this characteristic declaration: "No people can be 
bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand 
which conducts the afi'airs of men, more than the 
people of these United States. Every step, by which 
they have advanced to the character of an independent 
nation, seems to have been distinguished by some 
token of providential agency." 



13 

For years we have been rejoicing in peace and 
plenty ; feeling perfectly at ease and secure in our pos- 
sessions; when, suddenly, a dark cloud overshadows 
the land and fills every bosom with dismay. The 
glorious structure which our forefathers reared, and 
which they and their children thought as enduring 
as the everlasting hills, is threatened with immediate 
destruction, by the whirlwind and the storm. 

But I need not dwell on the calamities which have 
come upon us, or the greater calamities which we 
have cause to fear. You know them all ; little else 
is thought of, or talked of, now-a-days, when friend 
meets friend. My duty is, at this time, and from this 
sacred place, to say to you in the words of the pro- 
phet: "Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it." 
Your duty is, earnestly to inquire, Why hath all this 
evil overtaken us 1 and, How shall we be delivered ? 
Who will come forth to help us ^ 

I suppose that all of you, my brethren, will admit 
that our present calamity is the consequence of sin; 
for if there were no sin there could be no suffering. 
You acknowledge, too, that it is a manifestation of 
the divine displeasure, on account of our individual 
and national transgressions. Your presence here to- 
day is a proof that you so regard it. No intelligent 
Christian could look upon it in any other light. W^e 
have come up to this house of prayer, by the advice of 



14 



our chief magistrate, and with a conviction that it is 
our solemn duty, to humble ourselves in the presence 
of our great Creator, to bewail our manifold trans- 
gressions, to seek his renewing grace, to beseech Him 
that He will not deal with us after our sins, nor 
reward us according to our iniquities ; but that, after 
the multitude of his mercies, He would look upon us 
and visit us with his salvation. 

It is "when God's judgments are in the earth," that 
"the inhabitants of the world will," if ever, "learn 
righteousness." May his fatherly chastisements, now, 
teach us this salutary lesson, "by turning the hearts 
of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just." And 
then, brethren, we shall present to the eyes of men 
and angels the most sublime spectacle upon earth; 
that of a whole people bowing themselves before the 
mercy seat of the Most High, in humble ackno\vledg- 
ment of their sinfulness, in earnest supplications for 
pardon, and with sincere and solemn resolutions of 
making Him their only trust, and their portion for- 
ever. Such instances have been, and they are re- 
corded for our instruction. 

What moral grandeur was there in the voluntary 
humiliation of proud Nineveh, that " exceeding great 
city of three days' journey," when aroused by the 
warning voice : " Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be 
overthrown!" "The people of Nineveh," it is said, 



15 

"believed God." They knew his power, that what 
He said He was able to perform; they knew his jus- 
tice, that He would by no means acquit the guilty ; 
but they believed also that He was gracious, merci- 
ful, and long suffering; and they threw themselves 
upon his mercy. They "proclaimed a fast, and put 
on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the 
least of them." Their king, the mightiest monarch 
of the world, set the example for his subjects. He 
" arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, 
and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes." 
And he commanded his people, not only to " cry 
mightily unto God," but to "turn every one from his 
evil way, and from the violence that was in their 
hands." For, said he, "who can tell if God will 
turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger 
that we perish not]" Their repentance was accepted; 
their iniquity was pardoned. " God saw their works 
that they turned from their evil way; and God re- 
pented of the evil that he had said that he would do 
unto them ; and he did it not." 

Our blessed Lord himself points to the men of 
Nineveh as a notable example of faith in God's word, 
and obedience to his will. "They repented at the 
preaching of Jonas." God grant that their example 
be not lost upon us. May they never " rise up in 
judgment with this generation, and condemn it." We 



16 

have sinned more grievously than they, because we 
have a clearer knowledge of God, and are better 
instructed in our duty to Him, than they could have 
been. Was ever a people so blessed of heaven as 
we, with opportunities and privileges designed to 
make us a wise and virtuous nation'? And how have 
we abused our blessings ! What frightful records of 
crime, in every part of our land, are daily spread out 
before us! Each newspaper that we take into our 
hands, has its long black catalogue of riots and 
brawls, thefts, robberies, murders, burglaries, assassi- 
nations, by night and by day. Then comes the re- 
cord of unblushing bribery and corruption; detected, 
but not punished. Of monstrous frauds, bringing 
distress on thousands, and taking the very bread from 
the mouths of the widow and the fatherless; yet 
perpetrated with impunity. The time was, and that 
within the memory of most of us, when, to hear of 
any one of these crimes, would have made our ears 
tingle ; but now they are so common, as not to excite 
even our surprise. And can we think that God, who 
sees them all, will not visit us for these things'? 
" Shall not his soul be avenged on such a nation as 
tins'?" 

Then, again, look where you will, the evidence is 
before you of the rapid spread of infidelity, in the 
neglect of God's word, and sabbath, and sanctuary; 



17 

His name profaned ; His holy day openly and shame- 
lessly violated. And what shall we say of those sins 
which, though not so gross, are nevertheless dis- 
pleasing to God, and cannot go unpunished; the 
pride and selfishness, the greediness of gain, the pas- 
sion for vain show, Avhich are everywhere apparent, 
and are evidences of a heart entirely devoted to the 
world? What luxury of living, what extravagance 
in houses, and furniture, and dress, daily meet our 
eyes ! 

But they who indulge in these vanities, will per- 
haps ask: Have we not a right to do what we will 
with our ownl Certainly you have. But what is 
your own? Your money"? No; for God giveth 
you power to get wealth. Your talents'? No; for 
He alone maketh you to differ from others. Your 
persons 1 No ; for " it is He that hath made us, 
and not we ourselves." You have nothing of your 
own ; none of us can have. Whatever we possess, is 
lent us of God, to be used, not for mere selfish pur- 
poses, but to promote his honor and glory. And 
when he sees a people unfaithful to their trust, he is 
sure to punish. If they repent, He may spare them; 
if not, He will destroy them. This has been his 
manner of dealing with nations heretofore. " A fruit- 
ful land maketh He desolate, for the wickedness of 
them that dwell therein." So He punished Nineveh, 



18 

when she apostatized the second time ; so He punished 
Babylon, and Egypt, and Tyre; so He punished his 
own favored people, the Jews, As He had fore- 
warned them by his prophet, " their land was utterly 
emptied, and utterly spoiled;" and has remained so to 
this day. And so, brethren, he now threatens us. But, 
thanks to his mercy, judgment is yet delayed, and 
there is an opportunity for escape. Let us seek him 
by humble confession, by earnest prayer, by newness 
of life, and he will be found of us. By confession; 
for "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to 
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all un- 
righteousness." By prayer; for he is a God who 
heareth prayer, and never turns away from those who 
supplicate his aid. And, if He is on our side, it 
matters not who are against us. 

Prayer is the safety of nations, as of individuals. 
"The prayer of the righteous man" — that is, the 
penitent and the humble — " availeth much." Prayer 
has stopped the mouths of lions; quenched the vio- 
lence of fire ; turned to flight the armies of aliens. A 
praying people is invincible. If a nation bends the 
knee in prayer for divine guidance and protection, 
" no weapon formed against her can prosper." The 
prayer of Abraham would have saved Sodom, if only 
ten righteous men had been found in her. They 
were not found, and therefore Sodom was destroyed ; 



19 

but, even then, righteous Lot escaped. The prayer 
of a single individual has saved cities, overthrown 
armies, and brought the counsel of princes to 
naught. Prayer — I speak it reverently — is all but 
omnipotent ; because it prevails with God to lift up 
his almighty arm. 

Daniel, a captive in Babylon, in his chamber, with 
his window open towards Jerusalem, kneeling upon 
his knees three times a day, was wiser than all the 
Chaldean sages, and more powerful than Nebuchad- 
nezzar on his throne ; for the all-wise, all-powerful 
Jehovah was his wisdom and strength. 

The father of our country, retiring from the camp 
at Valley Forge, to a secluded grove, that he might 
commune with our heavenly Father in private 
prayer, and obtain from him strength and guidance, 
in that trying hour, was mightier than the armies 
of his enemies. 

One who sided with the British, knowing the 
reason why the Commander-in-chief so frequently 
visited that grove, exclaimed, " Our cause is lost ; 
George Washington is asking the help of the Al- 
mighty !" 

Hezekiah, alone in the temple, on his knees, with 
the boastful, blasphemous letter of Sennacherib spread 
out before the mercy-seat, was stronger than the 
armies of the Assyrians, for the Lord God of hosts 



20 

was on his side. " That which thou hast prayed to me 
against Sennacherib, king of Assyria," is God's an- 
swer to him, " I have heard. He shall not come into 
this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before 
it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. By the 
way that he came, by the same shall he return, and 
shall not come into this city, saith the Lord. For I 
will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, 
and for my servant David's sake." The promise is 
immediately fulfilled, and Jerusalem is saved by a 
mighty deliverance. " That same night the angel of 
the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the 
Assyrians an hundred and fourscore and five thousand ; 
and when they arose early in the morning, behold 
they were all dead corpses." 

Prayer is as eff'ectual now as it was then. " The 
hand of the Lord is not shortened, that it cannot 
save; neither is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear." 
The day is dark, indeed, but not darker than many 
days of the Revolution ; not so dark as that day when 
our forefathers of the Continental Congress — good 
men, and wise and true — met here for prayer. I be- 
lieve there are many such in our day, at the North, 
and at the South ; men as much attached to the Union 
and to the Constitution, as they who framed them ; 
and divine Providence, in his own good time, will 
make them known. Let us fix our eyes and our 



21 

hearts on Him, who is an ever-present help in time of 
tronble. The clouds above us are thick and lowering: 
but one breath of his mouth can disperse them all. 
The sun of our nation's glory is obscured; but one 
ray of light from his throne can dispel the darkness, 
and make our night as clear as the noonday. " The 
waves of the sea are mighty, and rage horribly ; but 
yet the Lord, who dwelleth on high, is mightier." 
" He stilleth the raging of the sea, and the madness 
of the people." And when He says, " Peace, be still;" 
there is instantly " a great calm." 

Now is the time, brethren, to prove our faith in 
him; to humble ourselves, and cry mightily unto 
him, and say — " Spare thy people, O God, and give 
not thy heritage to reproach." " Turn thee again, 
thou God of hosts, look down from heaven, behold 
and visit this vine, and the place of the vineyard that 
thy right hand hath planted. And so will we not go 
back from thee ; O let us live, and we shall call upon 
thy name." " Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, 
show the light of thy countenance, and we shall be 
whole." If we thus seek him, in all sincerity of heart, 
he will be found of us. His promise, which is yea and 
amen, sure and stedfast, is pledged for our deliverance. 

Hear what he has declared, and put upon record 
in his own Book, for our encouragement: "At what 
instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and con- 



22 

cerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and pull down, and 
to destroy it; if that nation, against whom I have 
pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the 
evil that I thought to do unto them." This is the 
grand charter of our rights and privileges, by which 
we, as Christians, sons of God and heirs with Christ, 
must abide. 

Let us, by God's grace, do our part, and his pro- 
mise shall be certainly fulfilled. He will pour upon 
us blessings more abundant than we can ask or think. 

The precious vine, which his own right hand hath 
planted, which now droops and withers, and seems 
ready to die, will then revive and flourish, and become 
more vigorous than ever ; spreading over the valleys, 
covering the hill-tops, climbing up the mountain sides, 
and stretching out its branches northward and south- 
ward, and from the Atlantic to the Peaceful Sea. 

And as untold millions, living in separate commu- 
nities, from the sunny south to the frozen north, yet 
knit together by ties of kindred and love, repose 
under the shadow of this one vine, without any to 
molest or make them afraid, this will be the feeling 
of all hearts, this the confession of every tongue — 
" Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for bre- 
thren to dwell together in unity !" 



23 

Brethren, beloved — 

" May the God of peace, that brought again from 
the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the 
sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 
make you perfect in every good work to do his will, 
working in you that which is well pleasing in his 
sight, through Jesus Christ ; to whom be glory for- 
ever and ever. Amen." (Heb. xiii. 20, 21.) 



APPENDIX. 



NAMES OF DELEGATES TO THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, 

nt5. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

John Sullivan, 
John Langdon. 

MASSACHUSETTS-BAY. 

John Hancock, 
Thomas Gushing, 
Samuel Adams, 
John Adams, 
Robert Treat Paine. 



John Alsop, 

John Jay, 

Simon Boerum, 

William Floyd, 

Henry Wisner, 

Philip Schuyler, 

Robert R. Livingston, Jr., 

George Clinton, 

Lewis Morris, 

Francis Lewis. 



RHODE ISLAND. 

Stephen Hopkins. 

CONNECTICUT. 

Eliphalet Dyer, 
Roger Sherman, 
Silas Deane, 
Titus Hosmer, 
Jonathan Sturgess. 

NEW YORK. 

Philip Livingston, 
James Duane, 



NEW JERSEY. 

James Kinsey, 
Stephen Crane, 
William Livingston, 
John De Hart, 
Richard Smith. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Edward Biddle, 
John Dickinson, 
Thomas Mifliiii, 
Charles Humphreys, 
John Morton, 



26 



George Ross, 
Benjamin Franklin, 
Thomas Willing;, 
James Wilson. 

DELAWARE. 

Caesar Rodney, 
Thomas McKean. 

MARYLAND. 

Matthew Tilghman, 
Thomas Johnson, Jr., 
Robert Goldsborough, 
William Paca, 
Samuel Chase, 
John Hall, 
Thomas Stone. 

VIRGINIA. 

Peyton Randolph, 
George Washington, 
Patrick Henry, 
Richard Henry Lee, 
Edmund Pendleton, 



Benjamin Harrison, 
Richard Bland. 

NORTH CAROLINA. 

William Hooper, 
Joseph Hewes, 
Richard Caswell. 

SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Henry Middleton, 
Thomas Lynch, 
Christopher Gadsden, 
John Rutledge, 
Edward Rutledge. 

GEORGIA 

was not represented in this Congress until 
September 13, 1775. Her delegates then were 

Archibald Bullock, 
John Houston, 
Rev. Dr. Zubly, 
Noble Wimberly Jones, 
Lyman Hall. 



The Congress met in Philadelphia, May 10, 17*75; and on the 
first day of the session elected the Hon. Peyton Randolph, Presi- 
dent; and Mr. Charles Thomson, Secretary. 

On the 19th of May, "Mr. Randolph being under the necessity 
of returning home," the chair was vacant; and, "on motion, the 
Honorable John Hancock was unanimously chosen President." 

June 15, 1775, Washington was "unanimously elected General 
and Commander-in-chief of the American forces ;" and, a few 
weeks after, joined the army at Cambridge. 

"June 21, 1775, Mr. Thomas Jeiferson appeared as a delegate 
for the colony of Virginia," in the place of Mr. Randolph. 



27 



PROCEEDINGS IN CONGRESS RELATIVE TO THE FAST. 

"Wednesday, June 1, 111b. Ou motion, Resolved, That Thurs- 
day, the 20th of July next, be observed throughout the twelve 
United Colonies, as a day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer; and 
that Mr. Hooper, Mr. J. Adams, and Mr. Paine, be a committee 
to bring in a resolve for that purpose." 

"Monday, June 12, 1115. The committee, appointed to prepare 
a resolution for a fast, brought in their report; which, being read, 
was agreed to as follows : — 

" As the great Governor of the world, by his supreme and uni- 
versal providence, not only conducts the course of nature with un- 
erring wisdom and rectitude, but frequently influences the minds of 
men to serve the wise and gracious purposes of his providential 
government ; and it being at all times our indispensable duty de- 
voutly to acknowledge his superintending providence, especially in 
times of impending danger and public calamity, to reverence and 
adore his immutable justice, as well as to implore his merciful inter- 
position for our deliverance; — 

"This Congress, therefore, considering the present critical, alarm- 
ing, and calamitous state of these colonies, do earnestly recommend 
that Thursday, the 20th day of July next, be observed by the in- 
habitants of all the English Colonies on this continent, as a day of 
public humiliation, fasting, and prayer; that we may, with united 
hearts and voices, unfeignedly confess and deplore our many sins, 
and offer up our joint supplications to the all-wise, omnipotent, and 
merciful Disposer of all events ; humbly beseeching him to forgive 
our iniquities, to remove our present calamities, to avert those deso- 
lating judgments with which we are threatened, and to bless our 
rightful sovereign, King George the Third, and to inspire him with 
wisdom to discern and pursue the true interest of his subjects, that 
a speedy end may be put to the civil discord between Great Britain 
and the American Colonies, without further effusion of blood ; and 
that the British nation may be influenced to regard the things that 
belong to her peace, before they are hid from her eyes; that these 



28 

colonies may ever be under the care and protection of a kind Provi- 
dence, and be prospered in all their interests ; that the divine bless- 
ing may descend and rest upon all our civil rulers, and upon the 
representatives of the people in their several assemblies and con- 
ventions, that they may be directed to wise and effectual measures 
for preserving the union, and securing the just rights and privileges 
of the colonies; that virtue and true religion may revive and flourish 
throughout our land ; and that all America may soon behold a 
gracious interposition of heaven, for the redress of her many griev- 
ances, the restoration of her invaded rights, a reconciliation with 
the parent State, on terms constitutional and honorable to both; 
and that her civil and religious privileges may be secured to the 
latest posterity. 

"And it is recommended to Christians, of all denominations, to 
assemble for public worship, and to abstain from servile labor and 
recreation on said day, 

" Ordered, That a copy of the above be signed by the President 
and attested by tlie Secretary, and published in the newspapers, and 
in handbills." 

JOHN HANCOCK, President. 
CHARLES THOMSON, Secretary. 

Saturday, July 15, ITTS. "On motion, Resolved, That the 
Congress will, on Thursday next, attend divine service in a body, 
both morning and afternoon." 

" Ordered, That Mr. Lynch and Mr. Dickinson wait on Mr. 
Duche and Dr. Allison, and request Mr. Duche to preach before 
the Congress on Thursday next, in the morning, and Dr. Allison 
in the afternoon." 

"Wednesday, July 19, 1775. Agreed, That the Congress meet 
at this place to-morrow, and from this place go in a body to attend 
divine service." 

"Thursday, July 20, 1775, half after nine A. M., adjourned 
till one o'clock P. M." 

Thus it is seen that Congress went in a body, from the State 
House, their place of meeting, to Christ Church, to attend divine 



29 

service, and to hear the Rev. Mr. Duchc's sermon, on this first 
general fast-day morning. 

The two follovring years. May 17, 1176, and April 3, 1777, were 
recommended by Congress to be observed as days of humiliation, 
fasting, and prayer, throughout the land. Christ Church and St. 
Peter's were opened for divine service, on both these occasions. 



ACTION OF CHRIST CHURCH VESTRY, 

ON THE DAT OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

The following interesting minutes of vestry, made on the ever 
memorable Fourth of July, seventeen hundred and seventy-six, 
record a prompt act of patriotism on the part of the authorities of 
Christ Church : — 

" At a meeting of the Yestry at the Rector's, July 4, 1776. Pre- 
sent, Rev. Jacob Duche, Rector; Thomas Cuthbert, Church- 
warden ; Jacob Duche, Robert Whyte, Charles Stedman, 
Edmund Physick, James Riddle, Peter De Haven, James 
Reynolds, Gerardus Clarkson, Vestry-men. 

" Whereas, the honorable Continental Congress have resolved to 
declare the American colonies to be free and independent States ; 
in consequence of which it will be proper to omit those petitions in 
the liturgy wherein the king of Great Rritain is prayed for, as in- 
consistent with the said declaration. Therefore, resolved, that it 
appears to this vestry to be necessary, for the peace and well-being 
of the churches, to omit the said petitions ; and the Rector and 
assistant Ministers of the united churches are requested, in the 
name of the vestry and their constituents, to omit such petitions as 
are above mentioned." 



PRAYERS IN CONGRESS. 

As everything connected with the beginning of our revolutionary 
struggle is interesting, and as Christ Church is more identified 
with the events of those days, than any other cluirch in our conn- 



30 

try, no apology is necessary for placing on record here the follow- 
ing gleanings from the journals of the first Continental Congress, 
and from other sources. 

The Congress assembled at the Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, 
Monday, September 5, 1174. 

"Tuesday, September 6, 1774. Resolved, That the Rev. Mr. 
Duche be desired to open the Congress to-morrow morning with 
prayers, at the Carpenters' Hall, at nine o'clock." 

"Wednesday, September 7, 1774. Agreeable to the resolve of 
yesterday, the meeting was opened with prayers by the Reverend 
Mr. Duche." 

" Voted, That the thanks of the Congress be given to Mr. Duche, 
by Mr. Cushing and Mr. Ward, for performing divine service, and 
for the excellent prayer, which he composed and delivered on the 
occasion." 

It was concerning this first divine service iu Congress, that John 
Adams thus wrote to his wife : — 

"Philadelphia, September 16, 1774. 

"Having a leisure moment, while the Congress is assembling, I 
gladly embrace it to write you a line. 

" When the Congress first met, Mr. Cushing made a motion that 
it should be opened with prayer. It was opposed by Mr. Jay, of 
New York, and Mr. Rutledge, of South Carolina, because we were 
so divided in religious sentiments ; some Episcopalians, some 
Quakers, some Anabaptists, some Presbyterians, and some Congre- 
gatioualists, that we could not join in the same act of worship. 
Mr. Samuel Adams arose and said, ' he was no bigot, and could 
hear a prayer from a gentleman of piety and virtue, who was at the 
same time a friend to his country. He was a stranger in Philadel- 
phia, but had heard that Mr. Duche (Dushay they pronounce it), 
deserved that character, and therefore he moved that Mr. Duche, 
an Episcopal clergyman, might be desired to read prayers to the 
Congress to-morrow morning.' The motion was seconded, and 
passed in the affirmative. 

" Mr. Randolph, our President, waited on Mr. Duche, and re- 



31 

ceived for answer, that if his health would permit, he certainly 
would. Accordingly, next morning he appeared with his clerk, 
and in his pontificals, and read several prayers in the established 
form, and then read the collect for the seventh day of September, 
which was the thirty-fifth Psalm. You must remember, this was 
the next morning after we heard the horrible rumor of the cannon- 
ade of Boston. I never saw a greater effect upon an audience. It 
seemed as if Heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read on that 
morning. 

"After this, Mr. Duche, unexpectedly to everybody, struck out 
into an extemporary prayer, which filled the bosom of every man 
present. I must confess, I never heard a better prayer, or one so 
well pronounced. Episcopalian as he is. Dr. Cooper himself never 
prayed with such fervor, such ardor, such earnestness and pathos, 
and in language so eloquent and sublime, for America, for the 
Congress, for the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and especially the 
town of Boston. It has had an excellent effect upon everybody 
here. I must beg you to read that Psalm. If there was any faith 
in the sortes Virgiliante, or sortes HomericiB, or especially the 
sortes Biblicte, it would be thought providential. 

" It will amuse your friends to read this letter and the thirty-fifth 
Psalm to them. Read it to your father and Mr. Wibird. I wonder 
what our Braintree churchmen would think of this. Mr. Duche is 
one of the most ingenious men, and best characters, and greatest 
orators in the Episcopal order upon this continent ; yet a zealous 
friend of liberty and his country. 

" I long to see my dear family. God bless, preserve, and prosper 
it. Adieu. 

JOHN ADAMS." 

For the above, see "Letters of John Adams addressed to his 
Wife," vol. i. Letter IX, p. 23. 

Mr. Duche was several times after this invited by Congress to 
officiate for them; and on July 9, 1776, there is this record on their 
Journals: "BesolceJ, That the Rev. Mr. Duche be appointed 
Chaplain to the Congress, and that he be desired to attend every 
morning at 9 o'clock." 



32 

He held this office until the seventeenth of October following, 
when he resigned, "in consequence of the state of his health, and 
his parochial duties." Whereupon, Congress 

" Resolved, That the President return the thanks of this house 
to the Rev. Mr. Duche, for the devout and acceptable manner in 
which he discharged his duty, during the time he officiated as 
chaplain to it ; and that one hundred and fifty dollars be presented 
to him, as an acknowledgment from the house of his services." Mr. 
Duche returned his grateful thanks to Congress, for the kind manner 
in which they expressed their approbation of his service ; but de- 
clined accepting any pecuniary compensation; and requested that 
the money voted to him, " be applied to the relief of the widows and 
children of such of the Pennsylvania officers as have fallen in battle, 
in the service of their country." 

The Rev. William White was next elected Chaplain to Congress, 
December 23, HTS; together with the Rev. P. Allison, a Presby- 
terian clergyman. At this time, Mr. Duche was rector of the united 
churches, Christ Church and St. Peter's ; and Mr. Coombe and Mr. 
White were the assistants. Mr. Duche went to England in 11 17 ; 
and Mr. Coombe followed him in 1118; and neither of them had 
any connection with a church in this country afterwards. 

Mr. White, being left in charge of both churches, was elected rector 
in 1118 ; and remained here through the whole of the Revolution; 
enjoying the personal friendship of Washington, and the confidence, 
respect and affection of all good men. His connection with Christ 
Church extended through the long period of sixty -four years ; nearly 
fifty years of which he was bishop of the diocese ; and forty years, 
senior bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States. He 
died on Sunday, July 11, 1836, in the eighty-ninth year of his age ; 
" his mind unclouded, tranquil and serene, in meek reliance upon 
his Saviour." 






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